Robert McKinley, Senior Analyst/Editor
Robert McKinley is an analyst of the payments industry on a daily basis for 32 years covering payment cards and payment systems from both the business side and the consumer side. McKinley is the retired founder and chief executive of RAM Research, CardWeb and CardTrak. In his prior position, McKinley has participated in more than 10,000 documented news media interviews, testified as an expert witness in two separate $billion+ U.S. anti-trust trials, testified before the U.S. Congress, assisted the GAO with paymentsIMG_2006 (1).jpeg reports, chaired numerous business conferences and provided C-Suite opinion to a multitude of Fortune 500 companies. In retirement, he has continued developing and funding digital media assets as well as contributing payments related analysis/content to a broad list of online publishers, including CardFlash, CardTrak and CardData. McKinley is also a national certified mentor with the non-profit SCORE organization with a focus on assisting Fintech startups. www.robert-mckinley.com

MasterCard announced the official opening of a local representative office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The first in the industry to inaugurate an office in Bangladesh, MasterCard marked the occasion with an opening ceremony, which was graced by Guest of Honour Atiur Rahman, Governor of Bangladesh Bank as well as Nurul Amin, Chairman of Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB). Also present at the ceremony were Ron Garrow, chief human resources officer, MasterCard; Ari Sarker, division president, South Asia, MasterCard; Vikas Varma, area head, South Asia, MasterCard; and Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager, MasterCard Bangladesh; among other MasterCard executives, members of the media, as well as local and international banks and financial institutions. This is based on the growth potential of the market driven by the growing middle class and e-commerce. Situated in the heart of Gulshan, Dhaka, the Bangladesh office will be headed by Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager, MasterCard Bangladesh.

Western Union launched its new transactional web site in Russia and now has online transactional services in 24 countries, enabling consumers to send money to over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Consumers in Russia can now send fast, convenient and reliable Western Union Money Transfer® transactions simply by visiting www.WesternUnion.ru. Consumers can send money to Western Union’s network of more than 500,000 Agent locations across 200 countries and territories, and receivers can opt to direct the funds into a bank account at select Western Union® account-based money transfer (ABMT) relationships. Consumers can continue to use the extensive Western Union retail Agent network across Russia to send and receive money worldwide.

The world’s first contactless smart cards compliant with the CIPURSE open security standard provide a convenient and cashless way to pay for services such as taxi rides or use health care. Manufactured by Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), the cards are based on a CIPURSE-compatible contactless security controller from Infineon Technologies. Initially defined for flexible and contactless transport and ticketing systems, CIPURSE also allows the flexible combination of identity and payment functions in mobile devices or multiple application cards. CIPURSE is highly flexible and allows the combination of multiple transport- and ticketing applications on a single card. The cards can also easily support identity or payment functions. Utilizing the advanced AES 128 encryption algorithm, CIPURSE enables fast and secure transactions. Furthermore, a certification process ensures compatibility of CIPURSE products from different suppliers. This combination of features makes CIPURSE an ideal solution to implement open and future-proof contactless systems without compromising on security.

American Express research indicates 96% of U.S. senior finance executives agree they will need to extract much greater value from financial and operating data in 2014. When considering where IT improvements could offer the most value to growth plans, nearly half (48%) say cutting costs, while the other half (48%) take a more insights-driven approach, citing effectiveness through analytical tools as the most valuable way IT can contribute to growth. To that end, 40% of surveyed executives say they plan to increase real spending on IT by 10% or more over the next year. However, while many senior finance executives plan to increase IT spend, only 8% plan to increase spend by 30% or more. The top three goals cited for mobile improvements are Providing employees with better data retrieval capabilities (42%); Enabling employees to share data and make better real-time decisions (34%); and Providing employees with up-to-the minute access to data (30%).

Payleven mobile card payments partnered Ingram Micro IT products, making its Chip & PIN card reader widely distributed through Ingram Micro in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, the UK, Spain and Poland. This is important in making freely available commercially mobile card payments. The Chip & PIN bluetooth card reader, the most secure solution for mobile card payments on the market, is a world first in the distribution portfolio of Ingram Micro. The Chip & PIN card reader from payleven connects via bluetooth to an app on a smartphone or tablet. This gives small and medium-sized businesses, from restaurant owners, to shop assistants, to taxi drivers the opportunity to accept debit or credit card payments on-the-go.

Fibernet Internet Service Provider passed PCI and SOC 1 Type II Certification security standards. It also received SSAE16 SOC 1 Type II certification. The attestation awarded to Fibernet by Cadence Assurance. All data centers must complete the certification requirements of PCI security. Regulations involve the human resources training programs, restriction of personnel who have physical access to the data center, and protection against environmental hazards. Fibernet Corp. has completed SOC 1 Type II certification, which requires demonstrable compliance to the standards for an entire year; Type I certification only requires compliance at the time at the time of attestation. Fibernet Corp is one of the first businesses to become an approved service provider by the credit card industry.

Ingenico will support JCB in the development and deployment of its new J/Speedy EMV contactless technology by enabling J/Speedy on Ingenico’s Telium 2 platform.
JCB is the only global payment brand based in Japan offering a comprehensive range of brand services to over 24 million merchants and 80 million card members around the world. Ingenico and JCB are now partners for the development, integration and the international deployment of J/Speedy, JCB’s contactless payment solution, starting mid-2014, to provide a simple, fast, and convenient way to pay.

Datacard Group and Barnes International Chip Card Test Tools and Magnetic Stripe Analysers integrated the Barnes smart card verification technology into the Datacard MX Series Quality Assurance (QA) module. The Datacard QA module systematically verifies both optical and electronic elements of each card that passes through the MX Series Platform to confirm accurate card personalization. By integrating the Barnes smart card verification technology into the QA module, financial organizations and commercial bureaus will now have the ability to easily verify that smart cards which are also run through the module are EMV compliant and conform to payment system operator’s requirements.

NCR announced First Data certified NCR APTRA Interactive Teller for its network allowing First Data FI ATM clients to use the solution for standard ATM transaction processing. APTRA Interactive Teller gives a live teller remote control of an ATM to conduct two way audio/video transactions with customers. The efficiency and security created through the centralization of tellers enables financial institutions to transform their branch locations into more effective service and sales environments. APTRA Interactive Teller lets financial institutions offer access to teller services during non-traditional banking hours, build new small-footprint branches, and provide full teller services in areas not served by branches, all while taking advantage of the advanced features of NCR ATMs such as deposit automation, bill pay and new account and loan initiation.

FreedomPay is teaming up with Microsoft in an effort to extend mobility past the simplicity of a phone or tablet application and integrate mobility into the underlying business processes of enterprises through the use of their Payments Platform as a Service offering. To harness the power of mobility, enterprises must unify consumer and inventory data across disparate back end systems – CRM, POS, etc, and link a consumer’s identity across multiple outlets – Facebook, Skype, Xbox, mobile, and credit cards that will result in a 360-degree view of the customer. Enterprises can then deliver targeted incentives to consumers based on their interests and buying habits to drive the desired behavior. A simple app can’t do that; you need a platform. The FreedomPay Commerce Platform includes mobile payments and incentive technologies that work with live POS systems, a state-of-the-art gateway that transmits exceedingly detailed transaction data, and rigorous security tools.